Seasonally adjusted data showed building society approvals had risen to £4,199 million in January 2007, up from £2,908 million in January 2006.
The BSA also revealed the highest ever January building society gross advances, which stood at £4,062 million in January 2007, compared to £3,174 million in January 2006. Net advances were also at their highest levels for January, having risen from £719 million last January to £1,241 million this year.
Andrew Gall, business economist for the BSA, said: “There have been tentative signs of the cooling housing market. However, indications of a slowing market are not coming through in building society mortgage figures yet. This is a reflection of the strong numbers of loans promised but not processed, seen at the end of last year.
“We may continue to see robust mortgage figures in the near future, but expect these to fall back as the impact of recent rate rises feeds through.”
James Cotton, mortgage specialist for London & Country, commented: “It’s good to see the market as a whole increasing. Remortgaging is as popular now as it’s ever been, as there’s a lot of focus on the initial rate and lenders concentrating on their retention strategies.”
